WWE News: Chris Jericho reveals Vince McMahon's reaction when he found out about his Wrestle Kingdom 12 match

And it is a reaction you may not expect...

Chris Jericho appears on the screen for a surprise announcement at NJPW Power Struggle

What's the story?

Chris Jericho joined Busted Open Radio recently and discussed when he informed WWE Chairman Vince McMahon about signing a deal with New Japan Pro Wrestling to take on Kenny Omega for the IWGP United States Championship at Wrestle Kingdom 12 on January 4th.

In case you didn't know...

Jericho came up with the idea of this match with Omega after watching Floyd Mayweather take on Conor McGregor this past August. It got Jericho thinking of a potential way for him to be involved in a pro wrestling match that no one would ever see coming or even be possible to have.

The heart of the matter

Jericho cleared the air in regards to getting permission from Vince when he revealed that he never did ask for permission. He would explain the initial exchange with the WWE Chairman in the quote below (transcript from Ringside News):

“I know he wasn’t upset because I called him six weeks before and told him as soon as the deal was done. I would never surprise him like that. You know, I didn’t ask him for his permission, but I didn’t have to. I told him what was going on, and to be quite frank with you guys, he was super excited about it.”

In addition to being excited, Jericho stated that Vince knew that his intentions were in the right place. The situation is "win-win" for everyone involved, and Jericho would expand on that with the following quote:

You see the thing about Vince is he loves wrestling. It’s what he knows best, and I think obviously his mission is to seek and destroy and kill every other company. But I think he secretly likes it when other companies do good, because it just makes it better for his company. And when Chris Jericho goes to New Japan, everybody knows I’m not a New Japan guy. I’m a WWE guy. You see Chris Jericho vs. Kenny Omega, it’s not like it’s some kind of a behind the scenes screw job. It’s taking a great opportunity and helping the business, helping Kenny Omega, helping New Japan. But guess what? It helps Chris Jericho. Which in turn helps the WWE.”

It helps New Japan Pro Wrestling because there will be a large chunk of the WWE Universe that may tune into Wrestle Kingdom for the first time ever. It also creates a buzz, the likes that have not been seen in pro wrestling with someone the stature of Jericho being on the card.

It also helps the WWE because it could open communications between them and New Japan Pro Wrestling. Could you imagine a talent agreement where guys like Kazuchika Okada and Tetsuya Naito wrestle the likes of AJ Styles or Shinsuke Nakamura in a WWE ring?

What's next?

We are just a little over a month away from Wrestle Kingdom 12 live from the Tokyo Dome in Tokyo, Japan. The event is headlined by the IWGP Heavyweight Championship match between the champion Kazuchika Okada and a former champion, Tetsuya Naito. Cody Rhodes will also defend his Ring Of Honor World Championship against Kota Ibushi.

Author's take

That was some really great stuff from Jericho there. To hear that Vince is "super excited" for this match is even better.

Jericho has been all around the world and is a great businessman himself when it comes to everything he does in entertainment. He knew this was a good business decision for all sides and took the initiative to make the impossible happen. Now if he could only get Omega to come to the WWE.